HAMBURG, Germany, July 10, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Evotec AG (EVT.F) (TecDAX) today announced that it has licensed to Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Inc. a portfolio of small molecules and biologics designed to trigger the regeneration of insulin-producing beta cells.

Under the terms of this license and collaboration agreement, Janssen will receive exclusive access to a series of candidates designed to trigger the regeneration of insulin-producing beta cells. The small molecules and biologics were identified by scientists in the Harvard University laboratory of Douglas Melton, and further analyzed in collaboration with scientists from Evotec, as part of the CureBeta research and development program.

The agreement between Evotec and Janssen triggers an upfront payment of US $8 million. Upon achievement of certain pre-clinical, clinical, regulatory and commercial goals, Janssen would make future milestone payments, of up to a total of about US $200 million to US $300 million per product. In addition, Janssen will pay royalties on future sales of any products that result from this collaboration. The upfront, milestone and royalty payments will be shared by Evotec and Harvard according to pre-agreed terms. Evotec will receive additional research support for discovery and early development work that will be conducted in collaboration with Janssen.

The CureBeta initiative was established by Harvard, the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI), and Evotec in 2011 to leverage the assets and expertise in industry and academia to identify and develop disease-state modifying therapeutic targets. To that end, Evotec's Dr. Cord Dohrmann and Harvard University Professor and Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator Doug Melton, recognized leaders in the field of beta cell research, began a unique international collaboration. During the initial period of the collaboration, Evotec, HHMI, and Harvard established new standards in beta cell regeneration in terms of assays and tools as well as novel high potential targets. Janssen Pharmaceuticals will provide industrial scope and scale as well as pharmaceutical development expertise and marketing capabilities.

Dr. Cord Dohrmann, Chief Scientific Officer of Evotec, commented: "Our collaboration with Doug Melton's laboratory has been extremely successful on multiple levels. We have not only achieved our scientific goals of creating a superior beta cell drug discovery platform and generating a deep pipeline of novel and exciting targets, but we have also established a new model of collaboration between academia and industry that has proven highly efficient and effective in accelerating innovative scientific development. Janssen Pharmaceuticals perfectly complements this effort, bringing in world-leading pharmaceutical development expertise as well as the necessary resources to execute on our mission to produce first-in-class therapeutics designed to restore beta cell mass and function."

"Our collaboration with Evotec supports our mission of accelerating scientific research from the lab to the clinic," said Isaac T. Kohlberg, Harvard's chief technology development officer and head of its Office of Technology Development. "As the funding and licensing landscape has evolved in the pharmaceutical industry, we have evolved to identify new development strategies for our research assets. This alliance with Janssen Pharmaceuticals represents an important step towards a real solution for the treatment of diabetes."

Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF) comments from Dr. Richard Insel, Chief Scientific Officer: "We are delighted to see Evotec, Dr. Doug Melton, and Janssen launch this collaborative partnership and commitment to develop innovative regenerative medicine therapies for diabetes. JDRF has been actively supporting research in the field of beta cell regenerative therapies, including other collaborative partnering programs with Evotec and Janssen Pharmaceuticals. JDRF looks forward to supporting the CureBeta initiative."

Evotec invites you to join a conference call announcing the license agreement to Janssen Pharmaceuticals

Details of the Conference Call:

10, July 2012 at

3.00 p.m. CET

2.00 p.m. BST

6.00 a.m. PDT / 9.00 a.m. EDT

Dial-in Numbers:

Europe:

+49 (0) 6103 485 3001 (Germany)

+44-207-153-2027 (UK)

+1-480-629-9673 (US)

Pass Code: 4548676

A simultaneous slide presentation for participants dialing in via phone is available at www.equitystory.com, password: evotec0712. You can also listen to the conference call via audio webcast including presentation slides at www.evotec.com.

If you are unable to attend, a recording will be available for 24 hours after the call at the following phone numbers: +49 69 58 99 90 567 (Germany), +44 20 7959 6720 (UK), +1 303 590 3030 (US). The access code is 4548676#. The on-demand version of the webcast will be available on our website: http://www.evotec.com - Investors/Events/Financial Calendar.

ABOUT EVOTEC AG

Evotec is a drug discovery alliance and development partnership company focused on rapidly progressing innovative product approaches with leading pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies. We operate worldwide providing the highest quality stand-alone and integrated drug discovery solutions, covering all activities from target-to-clinic. The Company has established a unique position by assembling top-class scientific experts and integrating state-of-the-art technologies as well as substantial experience and expertise in key therapeutic areas including neuroscience, pain, metabolic diseases as well as oncology and inflammation. Evotec has long-term discovery alliances with partners including Boehringer Ingelheim, CHDI, Genentech, Medimmune/Astra Zeneca, and Ono Pharmaceutical. In addition, the Company has existing development partnerships and product candidates both in clinical and preclinical development. These include partnerships with Boehringer Ingelheim, MedImmune and Andromeda (Teva) in the field of diabetes, and with Roche in the field of Alzheimer's disease. For additional information please go to www.evotec.com.

ABOUT HARVARD UNIVERSITY'S OFFICE OF TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT

The Harvard Office of Technology Development (OTD) is responsible for all activities pertaining to the evaluation, patenting and licensing of new inventions and discoveries made at Harvard University and Harvard Medical School. OTD also serves to further the development of Harvard technologies through the establishment of sponsored research collaborations with industry. OTD's mission is to promote the public good by fostering innovation and translating new inventions made at Harvard into useful products available and beneficial to society.

FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS -- Information set forth in this press release contains forward-looking statements, which involve a number of risks and uncertainties. The forward-looking statements contained herein represent the judgement of Evotec as of the date of this report. Such forward-looking statements are neither promises nor guarantees, but are subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond our control, and which could cause actual results to differ materially from those contemplated in these forward-looking statements. We expressly disclaim any obligation or undertaking to release publicly any updates or revisions to any such statements to reflect any change in our expectations or any change in events, conditions or circumstances on which any such statement is based.